


Smells Like A Teen's Spirit

by ziamgaylinson



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, M/M, kinda supernatual
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-07-07
Updated: 2014-09-13
Packaged: 2018-02-07 21:24:43
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 7,545
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/1914363
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ziamgaylinson/pseuds/ziamgaylinson
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Wait so you're... a ghost?" Liam asks.</p><p>"No-- Well-- Yeah-- No, I don't think I'm dead." Zayn stutters. "I mean I checked my body. I'm still breathing and stuff and my vital signs are whatever. But I'm here in this form, I guess. Yeah."</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I had the idea some time ago, but only just started really writing it. If you've ever seen the ABC Family movie Teen Spirit well I was watching it and though WOW WHAT IF...?! and this first chapter happened...
> 
> And Sorry for the lack of chapter names I'm incredibly lame and not good at that stuff

"Just walk up to him and say something," Liam's best friend, Harry, says. Liam looks at him like he's crazy, because what he just said was absolutely insane.  
  
The "him" Harry is talking about, is Liam's long term-forever-ongoing crush Zayn Malik. Why won't he talk to him? Well because he's hot and Liam's not. That's because everyone likes Zayn Malik.  
  
Even if you don't like Zayn Malik, you like Zayn Malik.  
  
Maybe it's because he's so scary. Well not freaky scary, but "Mess with me and I'll beat the living shit out of you scary." He's your typical skips-class-to-smoke-behind-the-school bad boy. He's not a loner, but he's not friendly.  
  
Then you have Liam, a goody-two-shoes who gets good grades and never breaks curfew (not that he has any reason to). His  only friends are his goldfish Ernie and Harry, who isn't a goldfish.  
  
Harry's a lot like Liam, but has every reason not to be. He's a fit lad, ladies adore him. Liam tells him almost every day that he should just ditch him and make better, cooler friends. But Harry always tells him, if he wanted cooler friends he would have ditched Liam long ago. Liam never knows whether to take offense to that or feel honored.  
  
"No, I can't because I might say something stupid and embarrass myself, not to mention he probably doesn't know who I am." Liam sighs. "Who am I kidding? Nobody knows who I am, and I want it to stay that way."  
  
Harry groans. This is a day to day argument that Harry loses. Liam will never talk to Zayn. "Whatever, let's go lunch is almost over and I'm not getting trapped in that doorway, again."  
  
Liam nods in agreement, and the two boys head out the double doors in the front, dropping our trash in the garbage can on the way out. They step out into the courtyard, where Liam nearly runs into two girls who were standing in front of the doors, like bimbos.  
  
They go to yell at him, until they see that Harry is right beside him. Instead they giggle and blush.  
  
"There's your boy right there," Harry nudges Liam in the side. He looks to where he's pointing, not so discreetly, and there he is.  
  
Being Zayn, and by that it means he's most likely stoned out of his mind with his two best(and only) friends. Louis and Niall, two of the best soccer players in the school district. Or at least they're supposed to be. Liam doesn't pay much attention, but Harry sure does.  
  
He thinks he's slick, he thinks Liam doesn't notice, but he does. Any chance he has, Harry brings up last weeks soccer match, or the upcoming match. He always, seriously always, points out how fit Louis looks in his tight jeans, then tries to cover it up by saying " I said Louise, not Louis."  
  
Then Liam scoffs and pretends to believe him, though they both know he doesn't.  
  
"Close your mouth you're drooling." Harry elbows Liam in the side,and turns to leave. While his back is turned Liam wipes at his mouth to make sure he's really not drooling. Liam trails behind him and they head to the far end of the courtyard, where Liam can still watch Zayn and his friends, but not so much his friends.  
  
"Random question," Liam looks at Harry, and nods for him to continue, "Would you rather have someone drop your toothbrush in the toilet and not tell you at all, or have them drop it, but only tell you after a few months?"  
  
Liams give him his Harry-You-Are-Such-An-Idiot look, and answers. "That's gross, but I think I'd rather them not tell me, because then I wouldn't want to make myself throw up." Liam glances at Zayn, who's leaning on the wall. He's wearing that dumb, but really hot, leather jacket even though it's practically boiling out here.  
  
His left foot is up on the wall and his head is tipped back. He's in that position that all bad boys stand in. His eyes are closed and he looks so peaceful, as if he's sleeping. Probably is, you never know with him.  
  
"Same." The bell rings and they head off into different directions to our classes.  
  
Unfortunately, Liam doesn't pass by Zayn on his way to class. He'd give anything to just watch him for days.  
  
Liam's Honors AP English class is the last class of the day, which happens to be his favorite class.  
  
It's funny because Liam doesn't talk to anyone in that class, nor do they talk to him, not unless they need a quick peek at his homework, that is. He's not really the talkative type, but most people know him as a nerd. He just enjoys the subject.  
  
And right now they're studying the different types of fiction.  
  
Liam is really enjoying it because he really enjoys the reading part of it, whereas everyone else hates it because the teacher is "too harsh", even though it is a higher level course. The only thing that really gets him about the class is the "analyzing" part of it.  
  
He reaches the class early and takes his usual seat in the back. Liam might like the class, but sitting in front makes him feel vulnerable, like the teacher can pinpoint each and every one of his weaknesses. It also feels like people are staring at the back of his head. Though it's most likely not true, the thought of that makes him very uncomfortable.  
  
Liam pulls out last night's homework and sits quietly as his peers file into the classroom. They take their usual seats and chat about who knows what. Liam doesn't care enough to listen, it's not like they bother to speak to him anyway.  
  
As usual class begins with their teacher, Mr. Phillips collecting their homework, but as he puts it away there's a knock on the door. The class sort of grumbles that the door is open. The knob turns and Liam is nowhere near prepared when he enters the classroom. Neither is anybody else. They all start mumbling things to one another.  
  
He hands Mr. Phillips a slip of paper, and just stands there scanning the classroom. Probably trying to find someone he knows, or an empty seat. "What, Mr., uh, Malik?" Mr. Phillips says a bit confused.  
  
"They, uh, thought I needed an advanced class." Zayn slurs a bit, he probably was a bit under the influence. Liam avoids his eyes as he looks around, but still tries to stare at him. He's slightly shocked. Who would've thought that Zayn, of all people, would be in an Honors AP English class? Liam's Honors AP English Class for that matter. Not that he thought that Zayn was, you know, dumb or anything. He doesn't really know much about him besides the whispers in the hallway, actually.  
  
  
"Well, find an empty seat. Borrow notes from somebody later, and you're gonna have to catch up quickly. We move fast." Mr. Phillips snaps his fingers. All eyes are on Zayn as he makes his way to the only empty seat in  the entire classroom, which coincidentally is next to Liam.  
  
Should he be happy, or nervous? Maybe he should lend Zayn his notes, and update him on where they are in the class.  
  
 _No_ , Liam thinks to himself, _can't do that_. He might say something stupid or make a fool of himself.  
  
Zayn slides into the seat beside him, and drops his head in his arms on his desk. Whether he's sleep, or just sitting there Liam doesn't know, but he stays that way the entire class. And Liam knows this because, well, he kind of watches him the entire class. But it's not like he just stared at him, unlike some of his classmates, it was just not-so-subtle glances.  
  
The bell rings, signaling the end of class. Liam tries to get out as fast as possible, but he gets stuck behind some really slow moving people, trying to ease their way into the even bigger crowd of slower moving students trying to leave the school.  
  
  
.  
  
  
A faint mist falls from the clouds that seemed to have formed when Zayn was in his new English class. The girls that scurry past him complain unnecessarily loud about their hair getting messed up, holding bags and coats over their heads.  
  
Zayn rolls his eyes and continues walking at a steady pace, his skateboard tucked beneath his arm, as opposed to the people around him walking briskly. Unlike most people, Zayn enjoys days with this type of weather.  
  
Days where the clouds hide the sun and a gloomy shadow is cast over everything. Better yet, foggy or even rainy days. And cold days, too. Cold and rainy days are his favorite. His mother likes to say it's because it matches his personality. Louis tells him it's because the only thing colder than a rainy day in Bradford is Zayn's soul.  
  
Zayn likes to think it's because everything is much prettier when the weather is like this (but only when he's still got a slight buzz going). There's a certain raw beauty to it, something indescribable. It's much better than the way it looks when it's bright and sunny. Like the sun is only a mask, covering what their city truly looks like. Like a smile on the face of a sad child.  
  
Not that their small town is sad or anything, but it isn't as perfect as they'd like for everyone to think. A fair amount of people in this place have problems that everyone knows about, but nobody talks about. (Though that's a lie, the way gossip spreads around here, it's kind of obvious that everybody talks).  
  
Zayn props his board on the stop sign when he reaches the end of the road, and searches his pockets for that familiar pack of Marlboro's and his lighter. It doesn't take long for him to light it and take the first drag.  
  
It's long and slow and relaxing. Instead of kicking away on his skateboard, he picks it up and tucks it under his arm again, making his way across the street. Zayn brings the cigarette to his lips again, tipping his head back, blowing smoke rings to the sky. He notes how the clouds have gotten just a little bit darker.  
  
What once was a light mist turns into a heavy drizzle, almost a normal rain. Zayn picks up his speed, wishing that he still had his motorcycle. It wasn't his fault, or maybe it was, that he got caught sneaking in well past his parent's set curfew.  
  
He thinks it was mostly Louis' fault, really. He'd gotten into a spot of trouble that only Zayn could get him out of. But on the way back into his house, his mother had gotten out of bed for a cup of water, and found him sneaking up the side of their house back into his room.  
  
That was a problem that everyone knew about, but nobody talked about. Were it his father, he would have been told not to do it again, or else he'd be grounded, though both of them know that his father would never ground him. But his mother, she was royally pissed. She knew of his smoking habit, that he skipped class (though he got good enough grades to pass), she was tolerant of that. She really tolerated a lot of the things he did, probably because there were two younger children that demanded her attention.  
  
It must have been the fact that it was about three in the morning, she was exhausted and more stressed than usual, but she snapped. His mother took his bike away, thinking that it would prevent him from sneaking out. She was wrong.  
  
It only made it easier and less tiring. Zayn didn't have to push his bike all the way up the street, so the loud motor wouldn't startle his sleeping family, or neighbors for that matter. And he didn't have to stop up the street only to haul the heavy bike back to his driveway.  
  
When the cigarette burned down, and there was nothing left to smoke, Zayn let it drop and crushed it with his foot. Thunder rumbled loud and menacing above him, the rain began to fall just a little bit harder. It took only seconds for the curb of the streets to begin filling with water. It took less time for Zayn to hop onto his skateboard and maneuver his way down the familiar streets back to his home.  
  
  
.  
  
  
"You're joking right?" Harry asks in disbelief. He steps out of his car, groaning at the faint mist, that turned into a heavy drizzle, and runs to the front door, shaking his curls on the doorstep. Liam follows suit, but only jogs behind him.  
  
When they're in the kichen, Harry raiding Liam's cabinets, Liam answers him. "I'm not. Zayn freaking Malik is now in my English class." Liam pulls out some bread and a knife, and sets it on the table.  
  
Harry brings out a rather large jar of Nutella, dipping his finger in it and hands it to Liam. Liam grimaces at him, but shrugs and slathers a large helping onto a slice of bread. "Are we talking about the same Zayn here?" Harry asks, after stealing Liam's sandwich. Liam lets him because Harry always does that. He pulls out more bread and slathers even more Nutella onto his own.

"What other Zayn do we know?"  
  
"Shut up, loser." Harry snaps with a mouth full of bread and hazelnut spread.  
  
Liam shrugs, and before he takes a bite of his own sandwich answers with, "I'm a loser and I'm proud, baby."  
  
After a quick after school snack, Harry talks Liam into saying something to Zayn that won't make him sound like a complete and total idiot.  
  
  
.  
  
  
Mornings are the worst.  
  
It's too early and nothing good happens in the morning.  
  
Or at least that's how Zayn feels about mornings.  
  
Every day he wakes up late, telling himself that he'll set his stupid alarm clock one day, though he knows it's a big fat lie. Then he has to rush to the bathroom before his pre-teen sister can get to it and use up all the hot water. After dressing at whatever speed he feels is acceptable, depending on the time he wakes up and how important he feels the day will be, Zayn makes his way downstairs, tells his mom goodbye and rides off on his bike or hog or whatever you want to call it.  
  
Today's not the exception.  
  
Except his sister gets the bathroom before him, he doesn't have his bike, his mom's already at work and yesterday's rain isn't fully gone. It's not light, but it's not heavy and Zayn is contemplating staying home but decides against it. Skipping school isn't the way to get back on his mom's good side.  
  
With a sigh, Zayn picks up his board and rides down the street. There's no way he'll make it to school before his first class is over. Not when the stupid wheels of his board keep getting stuck in the mud and puddles and cracks in the sidewalk. On top of that traffic is backed up making it literally impossible to cross the street.  
  
He can't even stop to have a morning smoke because it's raining and he can't get the lighter to light and stay on long enough. If only he was more worried about getting to school and less worried about having a smoke, then he would have noticed the car speeding past the red light and hurtling towards him.  
  
He blacks out on impact.  
  
  
.  
  
  
"You ready for this, bro?" Harry asks, his emerald eyes bright.  
  
Liam wants to roll his eyes because Harry is acting like Liam's going into a ring with Mike Tyson. "How many times have I told you to stop using 'bro'?" He asks instead.  
  
"I'll stop using it just as soon as you talk to Zayn." Harry retorts.  
  
"Are you just gonna annoy me until I talk to him?"  
  
"If that's what it takes, then yes." Harry shrugs before walking away.  
   
Liam sighs as he heads for his class. There's only one way he can get Harry off his back, but it's not like he has the actual guts to follow through.  
  
There are only three people in his classroom when he takes his seat. Each of them on opposite sides of the room. Liam watches each person that comes through the door, undoubtedly watching for Zayn. He tries not to feel disappointed when the bell rings, his teacher closes the door and Zayn is nowhere to be seen.  
  
  
He's halfway through a worksheet when he notices Zayn sitting in the formerly empty desk beside him. He didn't even notice Zayn come in. But the thing is he's just sitting there. He's just sitting there, no notebook, no pen, no paper. Nothing.  
  
Nobody else seems to notice Zayn's sudden appearance but Liam, and if they do, none of them acknowledge it. Liam tries to focus on his classwork, but Zayn is next to him looking around and it's making him quite nervous.  
  
Zayn's eyes meet Liam's and he's trying to hide pink cheeks as he goes back to work. But Liam can't concentrate on his work because he can still feel Zayn's eyes on him, a peek out the corner of his eye confirms that.  
  
But that's pretty much the expansion of their interaction.  
  
And it's also how Liam spends the rest of the class. Working for a minute or two, getting distracted by Zayn who doesn't pick up a pencil to begin. The teacher doesn't seem to notice him nor do the other students around him.  
  
It's strange, is what.  
  
  
.  
  
  
Zayn looks down at the body below him.  
  
It's his body. Not exactly lifeless, but not very alive either.  
  
There are tubes hanging from him where the skin is open and free from bandages. He doesn't look too bad, he thinks. Or it may just be a matter of opinion because in the corner his dad is trying to comfort his crying mother. She's been like that since he left the room earlier that day. His dad had remained silent, but the redness of his eyes gave him away.  
  
He wonders if this is some strange coma induced dream where everything looks and feels so real. But how can it be? Maybe he's a ghost of some sort. Maybe there's one person who can see him, like in that one movie where the girl--  
  
Is he dying? Is this his last chance to get things right? Oh, he really hopes it isn't.  
  
He recalls that boy-- Leeroy, was it-- looking at him, or was he looking past him? He can't have been. All day people had been walking right through him, like he wasn't even there.  
  
But this boy, had looked at Zayn like he could see him.  
  
And Zayn could only hope.

 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i'd just like to apologize for how "typical teenage girl" liam seems (i.e. "he doesn't know who i am" *sad face* -- not that there's anything wrong with that) and if you do chose to continue reading this just be aware that i am horrible at regular updates because of stupid school and procrastination.


	2. Chapter 2

"I'm sorry, bro." Harry says, tossing his bookbag into the backseat of his car. Liam slides into the passenger seat easily, cranking up the radio to a comfortable volume.  
  
"Sorry for what?" He asks, nodding his head along to some Rihanna song that Harry frowns at him for. Harry pulls out of the parking lot and Liam catches a glimpse of Zayn's friends and he can't help but wonder where Zayn is.  
  
"About Zayn."  
  
"What about him?"  
  
"He wasn't here. Heard he got in some sort of accident this morning." Harry says and Liam nearly gives himself whiplash.  
  
"What're you talking about?"  
  
Harry glances at Liam nervously. "I didn't hear until last period, but apparently he got hit by a car or something. I'm not really sure, I also heard he OD'd but I don't think that's true."  
  
Liam shakes his head and watches the buildings pass by. He wonders how that can be when he clearly saw Zayn earlier that day in class. Zayn had looked right at him, too.  
  
Harry pulls into Liam's driveway beside his mother's already parked car and waits a beat before asking, "You alright? I can hear you thinking about something."  
  
"I'm fine. Just a weird day is all." Liam gets out of the car, taking his bag with him. "I'll see you later."  
  
Harry shouts something that Liam doesn't really understand over the roar of his engine. He finds his mother at the stove of their small kitchen. Her hair is pulled back and she's singing along to an old Madonna song as she stirs a pot on the stove. Liam smiles fondly at the sight and turns to head upstairs to his room. It's small and represents Liam in every way. With the Batman and Lord of the Rings posters on his walls, along with a few other of his favorite series. He's really a big dork with all of his Marvel and DC comics lined up on the small shelf above his bed.  
  
He sighs as he sits at the edge of his bed and only startles a little when his mother comes in the door. "I didn't hear you come in." She smiles, eyes crinkling at the corners the same way Liam's does.  
  
"Don't see how you would, with the way you were singing." He shakes his head fondly.  
  
She sticks her tongue out at him. "How was school?"  
  
"Same old, same old."  
  
"Well dinner will be ready at 6 and if you need me I'll be downstairs." Karen shuts the door behind her and Liam can just barely hear her soft footsteps fading away.  
  
.  
  
  
“Mommy, where’s Zayn?” Zayn smiles down the table at his little sister, Safaa. His family was sitting at the table eating dinner, like they do every night, only Zayn’s seat was empty. It didn’t help that he was actually sitting in it and looking down at the noodles his mom had made only made him hungry, if that’s even possible in his state.  
  
Tricia looked at her husband with puffy eyes for help, Zayn wondered just what she would say to the two little girls staring at her with curious eyes. “Well, Zayn got into some trouble and he’s alright, but he won’t be home for a while.”  
  
The smaller girl nods briefly, Zayn knows it’s because she’s young and is probably more worried about which doll she’s going to sleep with tonight, but at least she cared, even it it was for a quick minute. His mom began asking his sisters about school, again, and Zayn cared, but not enough to stick around to hear his sister complain about how difficult her English class was.  
  
“Try being in high school,” he scoffed before attempting to walk through the wall. He’d seen plenty of ghosts do it in movies, and it looked pretty effortless to be honest. Apparently it isn’t because Zayn only ended up running into the wall face first with a thud.  
  
“What was that?” Zayn hears his father ask as he slips through the open window, not looking back.  
  
.  
  
  
“Did you hear about that Malik boy?” Liam’s mom asks casually when Liam’s mouth is full. His head snaps up at the mention of Zayn, but his mother doesn’t notice as she’s too busy scrolling through something on her phone. Liam makes a noise that sounds like ‘no’, but could really be anything, through his stuffed mouth and catches the balled up napkin his mom throws his way.  
  
“Anyways,” she huffs, “I was on the phone with Tammy earlier and she was telling me how she was driving down the street this morning and there was an ambulance parked in the middle of the street. Then she started complaining about how all the traffic made her late for work. I told her she needs start getting to work earlier, this is al--"  
  
"Mom," Liam groaned. If he didn't stop her then she'd never finish the story.  
  
"Right. Well, while she was waiting for the queue to pick back up, she'd  caught a glimpse of Trisha talking to some medics. Said the poor girl was bawling her eyes out." HIs mom stood to rinse her dishes in the sink, but left them aside for Liam to put away. "If you ask me, he had it coming. With the skipping school and tattoos. Just a shame he had to end up in the hospital."  
  
Liam stares down at the plate of food in front of him appetite suddenly lost. Karen doesn't seem to notice the slight change in Liam's mood when she kisses him on the forehead and slips upstairs, presumably to catch up on the latest  gossip since it seemed like that's all the women in this town did.  
  
It's just, he was certain he'd seen Zayn earlier today. He was positive that Zayn had looked right at him too. None of it made any sense, not if his mom and Harry had both said Zayn was in the hospital, but he'd been in class the same day. He thinks  it over while he puts away the leftover food, his own included, and puts away the rest of the dishes.  
  
Liam collapses in the chair in front of the old wooden desk in the corner of his room. The small lamp on his desk, the only source of light in his room at the moment, illuminating the words on the papers in front of him. He groans as he begins to try and find the similarities between The Dark Knight Rises and A Tale of Two Cities. He'd said something to his English teacher earlier that week and had until Friday to write an essay proving his theory. It didn't really count for a grade, but Mr. Phillips told him if he proved him wrong through the paper then Liam would get a perfect score on his next test (though he said Liam still had to take the test). Also, it was a pride thing.  
  
Liam tries to focus on the mostly empty paper in front of him, but his mind wanders elsewhere only to have his attention captured by something moving in the corner of his eye outside the window. He leans back in his chair trying to see what's outside. It creaks under him as he leans back as far as the chair will allow and Liam catches a glimpse of pale skin and a dark jacket under the street lamp just before the chair topples over and Liam's sprawled across the floor.  
  
He scrambles to his feet to look out the window, but whoever he'd seen, or thought he'd seen, was no longer there. After sitting at his desk for twenty minutes staring at a half empty paper, Liam resigns and decides to head to bed.  
  
.  
  
  
After Zayn had left his home he'd started on a walk down the street. It was sunset when he'd left the house, but by now the sun was long gone and the stars had come out to play. He noticed that not many people strayed out after dark in his relatively small town. He'd also found his pack of smokes and lighter in his pocket, and to his delight was able to successfully light one or five.  
  
Most nights like this, he'd probably be in Louis' basement with Louis and Niall surrounded by the dank smell of weed and cigarettes. He hasn't seen them since he'd left school and visited himself in the hospital and wonders if they'd thought to visit him or even wondered where he was.  
  
At some point in Zayn's walk he passes by a house with a single room lit and sees a vaguely familiar silhouette in the window. He doesn't remember anything important ever happening in this house (that he'd know of), so it makes him wonder why he stops for just a second to take note of it.  
  
Eventually Zayn finds himself crossing the street where the car had hit him, wincing slightly as he stands there for a long while watching the cars pass by him. It's strange, he thinks, how just this morning he'd been alive and very tangible and now he's not dead, but he's also not very tangible. He finds himself standing in the middle of the lane waiting for a car to come by and swerve out of the way so they don't hit him, but it never happens. Each car drives straight through him and Zayn sees things he'd never thought he'd see.  
  
He continues his walk and ends up sitting on a swing at the playground struggling to get it to move along with him. Frustrated, Zayn kicks up the mulch beneath his feet and pulls out another cigarette, almost lighting it until a voice perks up out of the darkness causing him to drop it.  
  
"I know you're not in your body right now, but do you know the health risks of chain smoking?" The voice belongs to an older man, no older than forty years old. Zayn doesn't recognize him from anywhere. Not the short, tight curls sitting on his head or his stocky build. He takes notice of how apprehensive Zayn must be feeling and holds out a hand saying, "You're Zayn, right? I'm Brian."  
  
As Zayn's staring at the hand warily, it occurs to him that this man can see him and something akin to hope sparks inside of him and he reaches out to take the hand.  
   
"Well, Zayn, you're not dead." Brian says with a slight southern twang and claps his hands together, "but you're not exactly conscious either. I understand you're wondering who and what I am. Let's just say I'm like your Guardian Angel, and not like the one that watches over you and makes sure you sleep well at night. I'm more like a guidance counselor, I guess?"  
  
Brian talks so quickly that it takes Zayn's brain a minute to catch up. "What?"  
  
"Okay let me explain it like this," Brian rolls his eyes. "You've seen that movie where the mean girl dies and she comes back as a spirit to try and redeem herself because she doesn't want to go to hell? Then she has to turn the lamest girl in school into a prom queen in like a week." Zayn nods. "Well basically that's what's going on, except you're not a female, or dead."  
  
"So, you're telling me that I have some sort of mission?" Zayn asks, toeing at the discarded cigarette.  
  
Brian runs a hand through his short hair. "You're a strange case. We usually only deal with dead people, not someone like you who's only in a coma. I'm not really sure what you have to do." Zayn goes to answer but is cut off by a loud ping. Brian pulls out a pager, making a face as he reads it.  
  
"What's it say?" Zayn asks, craning his neck.  
  
"This is good. I didn't know what I was going to say to you when I came out here but I've got it now. Liam Payne." Brian reads.  
  
"Who?"  
  
"Liam Payne." Brian slips the pager back into his pocket and claps Zayn on the back. He doesn't really push him, so much as nudge him and they begin walking. "Senior. He's in your English class. Great kid, only he's considered too lame."  
  
"What?"  
  
"You ask a lot of questions, kid." Brian groans. "You've gotta make Liam popular and desirable and everyone has to love him."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because otherwise you'll be stuck in this coma for God knows how long and you'll have to deal with me."  
  
Zayn recognizes the path that Brian's been leading him in. It's the same one he'd walked to the park. "What happens if I fail?"  
  
"I'm not really sure." Brian frowns. "There's a good chance that you-- don't panic-- might die. But I'm not certain, so give me a few days, and I'll get back to you on that."  
  
Zayn watches the ground as he and Brian walk some more. The name Liam Payne sounds very familiar, but Zayn can't find it in him to place it. He kicks at the rocks on the sidewalk, accidentally starting some type of game with Brian that leaves them shoving at each other and laughing, until finally Brian stops in front of the house that Zayn had paused at earlier, only all the lights are out this time.  
  
"This is his house." Brian says. "I'd advise you to not to try and communicate with him until tomorrow evening, but it's your thing, so..." He leads off with a shrug and Zayn stares up at the average sized house.  
  
It resembles almost every other house in this neighborhood, only the front porch is larger than most and there are no flowers decorating the front lawn.  
  
"One more thing," Brian adds with a smirk, "You've got to make his crush, or whatever y'all call it over here, fall in love with him or something like that."  
  
Zayn turns back to Brian to find that he's left before Zayn can ask how he's supposed to do that, he sighs and takes a final look at the house wondering just how much he's going to have to work.  
  
.  
  
  
Liam wakes up to his mom standing in the doorway, finger holding down the trigger of an old air horn. He jumps out of the bed and onto his feet as she laughs at him. He stretches and lets out a groan when he remembers that he has school.  
  
"Hurry up or else you'll be late!" Karen yells from a few rooms over, just as Liam is checking the time on his alarm clock. He rushes out of his room and into the bathroom across the hall.  
  
It takes Liam twenty-five minutes to shower, brush his teeth, get dressed and meet Harry outside of his house with all of his course work and an apple in between his teeth.  
  
Liam has one foot in the passenger seat when Harry says, "You look rough, bro," and when he's seated with his book bag in between his legs and the seat belt around his waist, he glares at Harry. Harry only laughs and pulls out of the driveway causing the apple to fall from Liam's mouth and roll under the seat.  
  
"I was gonna eat that," Liam pouts.  
  
Harry laughs again and ruffles Liam's hair. "I'll buy you lunch or something. So my mom was telling me last night that Tammy called her to gossip about Zayn's accident."  
  
"Same," Liam rests his head on the window and sighs. "I'm pretty sure Tammy called everyone, and whoever she didn't call found out from whoever she did call."  
  
Harry hums in agreement and the rest of the ride to school is spent in silence as Liam tries to get just a few more minutes of sleep. He'd spent the night before staring at a dark ceiling and thinking about --surprise, surprise-- Zayn.  
  
Liam was sure he had seen him outside of  his window, not once, but twice last night. The second time when he was getting ready for bed, but Liam shook it off and blamed it on his drowsiness.  
  
He never does get extra rest, the car ride being much too short for that. Harry ruffles Liam's hair again before they head off to their separate first block classes. Liam makes it through his first three classes without incident, though he could have sworn that he caught a glimpse of Zayn's quiff in the hallway once or twice.  
  
Liam's slightly more jumpy than he usually is and when Harry sneaks up behind him to purposely scare him, well Liam jumps more than a foot in the air. Harry doubles over in laughter, his unruly curls falling over his face, Liam scowls.  
  
"What's got you so riled up, bro?" Harry asks, sliding into the seat across from Liam.  
  
"I'm gonna have to spray you with cold water every time you say that, aren't I?" Liam huffs. Harry smirks and swipes Liam's half empty can of soda. "Aren't you supposed to be buying me lunch, not stealing it?"  
  
Harry shrugs and swishes the soda around in his mouth before swallowing. "Tomorrow. We'll go off campus and I'll take you to your favorite fast food joint."  
  
"Joint," Liam mutters with an eye roll.  
  
Halfway through the lunch, Liam and Harry throw away their trash and wander outside into the courtyard. Only Louis and Niall stand in their usual space, Zayn (obviously) nowhere near them. Many of the people standing outside glance at the pair periodically as if expecting Zayn to appear out of thin air. And to Liam's dismay, he actually does.  
  
Liam can't prevent the gasp that escapes his lips. At first he thinks he's just exhausted, but he'd made it through over half the day without wanting to rest his head. Then he blames it on the lighting, it's just some lame Zayn look-a-like wannabe, but he and Harry are standing in the shade, as well as Louis and Niall. He tries to come up with more excuses, but eventually he runs out and is left to believe that somehow that really is Zayn across the yard.  
  
"Liam, you okay?" Harry asks cautiously. "What are you staring at?"  
  
Liam shakes his head, but doesn't draw his gaze away from Zayn who's started moving around the yard waving his hand in front of the faces of random students. "It's nothing, I thought I saw a butterfly."  
  
It's lame, but Harry takes it. "A butterfly? Y'know, I was thinking about getting a butterfly tattooed on my stomach."  
  
Zayn moves to wave his hands in the face of a short girl with orange hair, when she doesn't respond he flips her off and moves on to her friend. He repeats this action in front of several other people, sometimes yelling vulgar things at the top of is lungs that cause Liam to wince and Harry to look at him with concern.  
  
A pretty girl with red hair from Harry's psychology class comes up to talk to him about some assignment they were given, completely disregarding Liam's presence. Liam tries not to look awkward and alone as he plays a third wheel to Harry and the girl.  
  
As much as he tries to avoid it, his eyes fall on Zayn, who is still trying to get the attention of the people around him. Liam watches him stop and look around for a few seconds, until finally Zayn meets Liam's eyes and it appears something clicks in Zayn's head because his eyes widen as he points at Liam and yells, "You!"  
  
The bell rings before Zayn starts moving towards Liam, who couldn't be happier to scurry off to his English classroom. He thinks he hears Harry yelling his name, but Liam keeps his head down as he pushes through the students in the hallways and into his classroom. It doesn't take long before he's flinging himself ungracefully into his regular seat, causing the legs of the chair to scrape noisily against the dirty classroom floor.  
  
Liam focuses his gaze outside of the window, ignoring his classmates coming in chattering bunches. It's not physically possible that he'd seen Zayn-- who is reportedly in the hospital-- running around, yelling in people's ears when nobody else could. Maybe he's just asleep and this is some wacky dream induced by his infatuation with Zayn and an empty stomach before bed. He barely registers when the teacher begins class because Zayn has slipped in through the just open classroom door and is searching for Liam.  
  
"You!" Zayn yells again. Liam cringes and tries to ignore him and focus on what his teacher is saying about their upcoming project. He tries to block out the sound of Zayn's footsteps as he focuses on the mole on the left side of Mr. Phillip's nose.  
  
"You can see me can't you?" He says and it startles Liam out of his seat. His classmates turn around to see what the commotion was about. Liam returns to his seat red faced and avoids eye contact with the group of girls snickering at him in the front corner.  
  
"Everything alright Mr. Payne?" Mr. Phillip asks in that condescending tone that almost all English teachers seem to possess. Not looking up to meet his eyes, Liam nods. "Anyways--"  
  
"If you can't see me, you sure can hear me." He hears Zayn say and it has Liam biting his tongue in an attempt to stay focused. It doesn't work because Liam can't focus on anything other than Zayn moving around him, waving his arms back and forth and shouting at the top of his lungs.  
  
Fifteen minutes into class, Liam asks to be excused with the excuse that he's not feeling too well. It's not a complete lie, because when he leaves class with Zayn on his tail, he has to run to the bathroom and empty his stomach of everything he'd eaten in the past twenty-four hours.  
  
When he finishes, it appears that Zayn had to duck out while Liam got a little sick. Liam told himself that the only reason he was seeing Zayn was because he needed to throw up, but even to himself it sounded like a stupid excuse. He takes a few minutes to rinse out his mouth and rinse his face multiple times, then sits up, brushing his floppy hair out of his eyes.  
  
Looking at himself, Liam can see the toll that this school year has begun to take on him. His hair is styled the same way it's always been since he'd let it grow out after shaving it all off some odd years ago. His mom always suggests that he let her take him to get it cut, saying he's outgrown the style and needs something much more mature. There are bags forming under his eyes from excessive homework and a lack of sleep.  
  
He reaches up, watching his reflection in the mirror, and rubs his tired eyes, wondering if he should stop by the nurses office first or head straight home. A scream gets caught in his throat when he pulls his hands back and sees Zayn standing in the mirror with a frown creasing his perfect features.  
  
"Well, if you're done getting sick--" Zayn starts but Liam is quick to turn around and cut him off.  
  
"You're not real." He surprises himself with how even his voice comes out. Zayn raises and eyebrow questioningly, "You're just some sick figment of my imagination. You're nothing but a hallucination."  
  
Zayn leans against the stall door with a smirk stretching out across his lips. "You and I both know I'm real."  
  
"No." Liam stomps his foot like a child, he almost feels like crying, even though he knows it's irrational. "No. You're not real because you got hit by that car and you're in the hospital and you can't be here because it's impossible!"  
  
"Lower your voice, someone might walk by and think you're crazy." Zayn says pushing off the stall and heading out of the door, or Liam expects him to. Instead Zayn walks through the wall and Liam only stares disbelievingly until Zayn pokes his head back in saying, "You coming or not?"  
  
Liam doesn't know why, but he grabs his discarded book bag off of the ground and finds Zayn waiting outside the bathroom flicking a lighter on and off.  
  
"Put that away, someone might--" Liam cuts himself off remembering that he's the only one who can actually see Zayn.  
  
Zayn raises and eyebrow, eyes twinkling in amusement. "Might what?"  
  
"Nothing." Liam grumbles and walks past Zayn, heading for the closest exit doors in the school. He didn't think it would have been so easy to walk out, but he figures he'd end up paying for it later somehow.  
  
He keeps his head down as he and Zayn walk down the side of the road, only following Zayn's feet. It seems a bit outrageous that Zayn is here and actually talking to him. Under normal circumstances Liam would have probably had a heart attack if Zayn even stepped within a three foot radius of him. But then again, Liam is still holding on firmly to the belief that this is some sort of hallucination, probably stress induced.  
  
Zayn stops and Liam wouldn't have noticed, mostly because he almost walked straight through Zayn, if Zayn hadn't shouted Liam's name. Liam looks up and see's that they've walked to his house.  
  
His mom's car isn't in the driveway, Liam remembers her telling him that she's going on a business trip for a few days and won't be home until the next week probably. (Also that she'd cooked some food for him and left it all in the freezer so he won't starve.)  
  
"How'd you know where I live?" Liam asks when he's unlocking the door. Zayn is already on the other side.  
  
"Long story." Zayn shrugs.  
  
Liam leads them into the living room and sinks into the cushions, eyes trained on Zayn who settles down on the arm of the chair closest to the door.  
  
"I've got time."  
  
Zayn shrugs again and tells Liam the story of how he ended up the way he is now.


End file.
